This studio course investigates the creative possibilities in programming, from interactivity to information visualization. Students explore interactive narratives and games, software art, simulations and emergent behaviors, and other code-based forms. Lectures and demonstrations provide a conceptual, aesthetic and technical foundation in programming as a creative practice. Techniques and concepts are presented through the open-source programming environment p5*js, with an introduction to advanced topics such as server facilitated interactivity and computer vision.
What is at the intersection of art and technology? What does technology help us understand about art? How does art deepen our understanding of technology? Is all art technological? These questions undergird art and technology practices and studies. This course deals with simulation and games, with networked play and interactive art -- these genres of work point out a key affordance of creative media practices, its worldbuilding power.
In this course, we'll begin to approach these generative problems by beginning to develop our technical facility and expressivity with a creative coding tool. We will get started with a refresher of "beginner" p5js before continuing to build out an extended toolkit for creating interactive and generative artworks. Your guide here will be the textbook Getting Started with p5js (see PDF included in materials). You’ll work in a small group to develop a tutorial on two key concept/techniques in p5. After a few weeks, we'll bring it all together in a teach-in.
We will look at some artistic examples of visualization as well as its sensory sisters sonification and haptic display. After learning how to integrate live data streams via APIs into our sketches, your first project will be display visually (or otherwise) the remaining carbon budgeted before a global increase in temperature of 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius. We'll read the introduction to McKenzie Wark's Molecular Red, in particular her emphasis of the concept of the "Carbon Liberation Front". The CLF generates a view of the anthropocene and the climate crisis that radically decenters our own perspectives. How can visualization and art practice make an analogous move?
In Unit 2 we'll dive into advanced functionality for keeping track of position, direction, speed, acceleration -- the groundwork of a physics engine -- through the p5.Vector. This will allow us to build towards creating simulations of complex group activity (think of a flock of birds, or a table with a thousand marbles). We will use the Nature of Code text by Daniel Schiffman (PDF also in materials) to walk us through the code, and Baudrillard and Ian Cheng to think through simulation as a world-building technique, which you'll sum up in your second project.
Unit 3 brings things online. We'll look at the library p5.Party which will allow us to write code that shares data over a common server, networked interaction. This means you can code interactions between two or more computers -- whether they're in the same building or across the world. We'll show some other techniques in computer vision here using a library called MediaPipe that will allow for camera-based sensing of movement. This approach to sensing activity proffers a more deeply embodied interaction scheme that greatly exceeds the complexity of keyboard or mouse interactions which we know from every day. In your project, you'll put that together with two or more computers with our p5.party library.
This "multiplayer" interaction segues elegantly into our last unit, games. Our approach to games will be heavily in debt to the concept of play and the immersion of role-play. Table-top roleplaying games offer a technical basis for thinking through the structurations and narrativizations in games and play. We'll leverage that simplicity in this unit, since we may also wish to combine other techniques from the preceding units in our project 4.
This syllabus is only a general guideline for the course. The schedule will change depending on class performance during the semester. Adjustments will be announced during class time when changes occur.
Assignments are always due on the day they are DUE. Late work is not acceptable because of the fact that in-class activities are often closely tied to sharing and discussing assignments. Late work undermines your own learning as well as the learning community of the class as a whole.
SAIC is committed to full compliance with all laws regarding equal opportunities for students with disabilities. Students with known or suspected disabilities, such as a Reading/Writing Disorder, ADD/ADHD, and/or a mental health condition who think they would benefit from assistance or accommodations should first contact the Disability and Learning Resource Center (DLRC) to schedule a virtual appointment. DLRC staff will review your disability documentation and work with you to determine reasonable accommodations. They will then provide you and your instructors with a letter outlining the approved accommodations via email. You must request accommodations for each course before any accommodations will be implemented. You should contact the DLRC as early in the semester as possible. The DLRC can be reached via phone at 312.499.4278 or email at dlrc@saic.edu.
Each SAIC course, whether held online or in-person, or a hybrid of both, is a learning community that relies on regular, active engagement from all participants. Other than in-person activities which are missed due to illness, all students are expected to fully participate in each of their courses, including in-person classes, synchronous online sessions, and regular, independent work and study.
Ultimately, faculty will give credit to students enrolled in a course only in they have responded adequately to the standards and requirements of the course overall.
The full SAIC Engagement, Participation, and Attendance Policy can be found in the 2022/2023 Student Handbook, on page 76. All students and faculty should review and be familiar with this important policy, as well as how it will be applied in this particular course.
From the SAIC Student Handbook: “Academic misconduct includes both plagiarism and cheating, and may consist of: the submission of the work of another as one’s own; unauthorized assistance on a test or assignment; submission of the same work for more than one class without the knowledge and consent of all instructors; or the failure to properly cite texts or ideas from other sources. Academic misconduct also includes the falsification of academic or student-related records, such as transcripts, evaluations and letters of recommendation.
Academic misconduct extends to all spaces on campus, including satellite locations and online education.
Academic integrity is expected in all coursework, including online learning. It is assumed that the person receiving the credit for the course is the person completing the work. SAIC has processes in place, including LDAP authentication, to verify student identity.”
Tutors are available in person and online to help students achieve their writing goals at any stage of their writing process. All students are welcome, and they can work on essays, artist statements, application materials, presentation texts, theses, proposals, creative writing, or social media posts. The Writing Center tutors are kind, encouraging, and interested!
Though drop-ins are welcome, the best way to guarantee an appointment is to schedule one via Navigate
The student use of various digital devices in In-Person classes, such as laptops, phones, tablets, etc. should be limited only to appropriate use given the format of the class. Use of digital devices in class to do non-class related work will not be allowed or tolerated.
Similarly, use of digital devices in class during screenings will not be allowed or tolerated. If a student has a software or hardware related problem please visit the CRIT Helpdesk on the 9th floor of the 112 S. Michigan (Maclean) Building for assistance addressing these issues.
The Office of Students Affairs is here to help students achieve success in and outside of the classroom and studios. Staff members are available to assist students with a wide-range of issues and concerns, including mental and physical health concerns, food and housing insecurity, conflicts with others, and much more. We are available during typical business hours (9-5pm, Mon-Friday); however, we also have staff available after-hours to address emergency concerns.
In case of an emergency, please contact SAIC Campus Security, 24 hours a day, by visiting any campus security desk or calling 312.899.1230. They can assist you and/or connect you with a staff member who can provide support for you.
Resources If you have difficulty affording groceries or accessing food every day, and/or do not have a safe and stable place to live, please contact the Office of Student Affairs - (312) 629-6800 / studenthelp@saic.edu during business hours. If you contact them after hours, someone will respond the next business day.
You can also find links and resources at this site, curated by Student Affairs: Student Support Resources and Information
Spoonful Food Pantry is available to current SAIC students who are experiencing difficulty accessing food because of a financial emergency or ongoing constraints. Students can request a pre-packaged bag of non-perishable groceries (vegan and gluten free available) by completing the online form Once approved, students will receive a pre-packaged bag of non-perishable groceries.
The SAIC Wellness Center, which includes Counseling Services, Health Services and the Disability and Learning Resource Center, is also here to support students' mental health, health and accessibility needs. You may contact them at: